APExperts say that the injury suffered by I'll Have Another isn't rare among race horses.

LOWELL, MI -- When Dr. Todd Shaarda heard that I’ll Have Another dropped out of the Belmont Stakes – and permanently ended its racing career – because of a swollen tendon, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

Taking to the track with such an injury could spell near disaster – not to mention a poor performance – for the horse, which was angling to become the 12th Triple Crown winner with a victory at the Belmont Stakes Saturday.

“If there’s some inflammation or swelling and they go out wholeheartedly to race, they could tear that or damage it or make it worse,” said Shaarda, who works at Equine Medical Center in Lowell. “You definitely wouldn’t want to see a horse have a catastrophic injury on the racetrack and go down and break a leg or something.”

Why I’ll Have Another suffered the injury is difficult to say, although horses in disciplines such as racing or dressage are more likely to end up with a swollen tendon, he said

I’ll Have Another had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes and was the 4-5 favorite to win the Belmont.

“It could have been one step that he took or it could have possibly been the training that he was in,” Shaarda said. “It’s not an uncommon injury and … one of the first signs we’ll see of a tendon injury is that it becomes swollen and inflamed if it becomes worse then we’ll actually see a core lesion or bleeding inside the tendon.”

Dr. John Stick, an equine surgeon at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said while the injury itself is relatively minor, it could have a major impact on the horse.

“It’s a relatively minor injury at this point in time, but it would have gotten much worse had he raced and he would not have been competitive,” Stick said. “That would have hurt and he may very well have hurt his other front leg trying to stay off of it during the race. They did the right thing by the horse by pulling him out of the race.”

The decision to pull I’ll have another from the race marks the first time that since 1936 that the winner of the Derby and Preakness didn’t run in the Belmont.

“It’s kind of an insignificant injury for the horse but not for his career,” Stick said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
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